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Butter Lettuce, Chicken, and Cherry Salad

However tempting it may be to eat all of the ultra-crunchy croutons—panfried in chicken fat—right out of the skillet, save some for this summery composed salad. And if you're feeling less indulgent,leave out the croutons and chicken skin.

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Preparation

Whisk first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir; set aside. Remove crispy chicken skin and tear into pieces. Pull chicken meat from bones and tear into pieces; discard bones. Reserve skin and meat.

Heat chicken fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bread to skillet and toast, turning frequently, until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper while still hot.

Place chicken meat in a large bowl. Add cherries, butter lettuce, radishes, and chives and drizzle with vinaigrette; toss to coat. Divide salad among plates and garnish with croutons and chicken skin.

Recent Reviews

This is another recipe that has become a staple in our family's menu in late spring. Outside the cherries, we grow the rest of these ingredients fresh in our garden. Grandpa Admire's in a favorite on the butter lettuce side of this recipe. In terms of changes we have made over the years - we double the fresh garlic and add two baby/Persian cucumbers sliced.
I agree with other reviewers about the chicken grease issue, so that was another change we made. First, we generally used boneless, skinless thighs. Then, we cube (about 1-1/2 inch cubes) half a loaf of French bread in a large bowl and toss it with the remaining chicken grease and some olive oil (there is a lot less chicken grease to use when it's skinless) - use just enough to very coat 80-90% of the bread. Then toss with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place on a baking sheet in a 375 F oven for 15-20 minutes - until crisp/dry-ish. These make a nice crouton without all the greasiness.
The other thing we found is that you can make this into a lovely Fall season recipe as well, but substituting grapes for the cherries and pecans for the bread. Absolutely delicious either way.

jeanne27 from Northern illinois /

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This salad was even more amazing than I expected. I inadvertently purchased boneless skinless chicken, and the chicken still turned out lovely with a nice crispy top, plus it was easier to cut up in pieces to serve! I also managed to only add 2T of dijon to the dressing, but I think it turned out perfect (and one other reviewer said 3T was too much). I agree with others that cutting the cherries in half would have worked better so will do so next time I make this.

eostenger from Atlanta, GA /

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Made as an entree salad. The dressing was AMAZING even without the dill. Used roasted chicken from Whole Foods. Omitted the croutons. Suggest quartering the cherries so they are bit sized.

carminn from San Francisco, CA /

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'Who eats fried chicken fat and skin?' Really?? I DO. Oh my god. This is SO GOOD. Followed the chicken recipe to the absolute letter and it produced the juiciest, most flavorful chicken thighs ever, with gorgeous crispy skin...and the croutons that this salad recommends sopped up the fat in the pan and became golden-brown, slightly crispy, savory flavor-bombs. (Add enough to the pan to consume the oil quantity that remains...and then drain them well on a paper towel to avoid sogginess.) I would eat them by themselves. I suppose you COULD modify the recipe to use chicken breasts and omit the croutons, but then the entire flavor profile is different, and instead the dish becomes 'just another chicken breast salad with an okay dressing.' There are billions of those on the internet. This one gets a place in my recipe box because of the magic that happens when those bright, fresh herb, garlic, mustard and lemon flavors slice through the savory indulgence of the chicken fat. (I could take or leave the radishes, but they're pretty, so I usually make it with.) A spatter guard and some attention to the heat during the pan-frying phase are necessary. I use tongs to adjust the chicken in the pan quickly. If you do it right, cleanup will require all of thirty seconds to wipe whatever spit out of the spatter guard when you lifted it to move them...and it is so, so worth it.

sophistre from Washington /

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Easy and incredibly tasty dinner featuring fresh cherries and beautifully crisp chicken thighs. The recipe for the chicken, Perfect Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs is 100% correct...the directions produced crispy and juicy chicken thighs that were wonderful in the salad.